The second round the of the Class 5A-Region 2 playoffs has provided us with the match-up we’ve been waiting to see. River Ridge will make their way north the Brooksville to take on Nature Coast in battle of teams that are a combined 21-1 this season. The reason we’ve been waiting on this one is obvious to many–but in case some of you are late to the party it’s the opportunity to see the State of Florida’s top two rushers this season square off in the opposing backfields.
To tickle the fancies of the number-crunchers out there, we’ve compiled a list of the numerical accomplishments of these two special backs, and put them in a compare-contrast format to get the basic gist of just how special these two have been for their respective programs–especially the last two seasons. With further a due, we give you the statistical breakdown of Nature Coast’s Deshawn Smith and River Ridge’s Chris Schwarz.
Smith is currently the leading rusher in the state and just recently broke Hernando County’s All-Time Rushing Record and last week–broke Derrick Henry’s single-season rushing TD record as well. The 5-foot-8, 185-pounder is a bruiser, but can also hit the hole with force with breakaway speed in the open–and when you think of his style as it translates to a collegiate program–think Ohio State or Alabama.
The senior RB’s numbers the last two seasons have been the quintessential definition of gaudy. Last season, Smith rushed for 1,498 yards averaging 10.1 yards per carry. As mentioned earlier, he leads the state this season rushing for 3,111 yards and 52 touchdowns. This season Smith is averaging 16 yards per carry. Nine times this season, Smith has rushed for at least 200 yards in a contest, with four of those being for 300+ yards and one game with over 400 yards of rushing. For his career, Smith has amassed 5,394 yards on the ground with 4,609 of those yards coming the last two seasons. He’s also tallied 75 touchdowns in his career with the Sharks. Nature Coast is 17-4 the past two seasons during Smith’s insane run.
Schwarz was actually the leading rusher in Florida last season, rushing for 2,689 yards for the Royal Knights in a historic season that saw River Ridge make the second round of the playoffs. His numbers are also off-the-charts the past two seasons and is entering this week’s game as the #2-ranked rusher statistically in Florida with 2,205 yards hitting the century mark in all eleven games he’s played in for River Ridge. He needs just 183 yards Friday to become Pasco County’s All-Time leader and when you think of a “collegiate” style to apply to his running–think of a Penn State or Navy or Stanford grounder-and-pounder.
Schwarz’ total yards the last two seasons actually tops Smith’s with 4,894 the last two seasons in the midst of a 20-3 run for his squad during this time. In 2014, he averaged 7.1 yards per carry while aver gain a slightly lower–but just as effective 6.7 yards per cary this season. Schwarz plays defense as well, racking up 20+ tackles on the season in 2015 for the Knights.